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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

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Fraud email example:

From: "victor onyema" <victoronyema1@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: victor_onyemachi@freenet.de
Date: Thu, 01 Sep 2005 14:07:44 +0000
Subject: Personal

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please forgive me if I intrude your privacy, we do not know each other but
it does not matter. What matters is transparency between us in this deal. I
am Mr.Victor Onyemachi. I came to know about you in my private search for a
reliable and reputable person to handle this confidential business
transaction. A foreigner, Name With-held until his death in a plain Crashed
few years, banked with us here and had a closing balance of US$20.5M (Twenty
Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) which the bank unquestionably expects
it to be claimed by any available next of kin of the late beneficiary or
alternatively be donated to a discredited trust fund for Arms and Ammunition
at a National Military War College here in Nigeria.

Valuable effort have been made by our Institution to get in-touch with any
of the families of the depositor but proved to no avail. it is because of
the perceived possibility of not being able to locate any of the families of
the late depositor’s next of kin that the management under the influence of
our chairman and Members Of The Boards Of Director that an arrangement be
made for the funds to be declared Un-claimable and subsequently be donated
to the Trust Fund for Arms and Ammunition to further Enhance the course of
war in Africa and the World in General as you knows that war will eventually
bring destruction to man kind. In order to avert this negative development,
I now seek your permission to have you stand as the Next-Of-Kin Of. Late
depositor so that the funds US$ 20.5M (Twenty Million Five Hundred Thousand
Dollars) would be release and pay into your Bank Account as the Next Of Kin.
Just recently the fund was moved to one an off-shore bank abroad Finance
Company while the arrangement is also been made to donate the funds to the
Military College if no body comes up for the claim.

I am contacting you because I want the two of us to work out modalities to
secure the fund and use it for our benefit instead of donating the money to
a war college. With me in the inside it will be very easy. All Documents and
proofs to enable us get this Fund on your name as the legal beneficiary of
the said fund will be carefully worked as the documents to be secure shall
state that you alone is the next of kin and the beneficiary. This
transaction is 100% Risk Free so do not be afraid. Your share out of the
$20.5m depends on our agreement as we proceed with the deal. I will
appreciate if you send to me your age, your job type and personal
information in your reply to this mail. If this Proposal is all right by
you.
Thanks for your co-operation.

Yours Faithfully,

Mr. Victor Onyemachi


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